This model is of a four-wheel Croydon Corporation tramcarNumber 39 trams ran between Norbury and Purley from 1906 to 1927, when the 39 was renumbered 17.From 1933 London Transport ran all the trams in the Croydon area.Local businesses paid to advertise on the sides of the trams.

Dorothy Bailey

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Dorothy Bailey

Dorothy remembers travellingby tram as a child:

"My trouble was this;The seats inside the trams ran from one end to the other and were highly varnished. Of course when I sat down, my feet did not touch the floor, and every time the tram started or stopped I shot along the seat, unless there was a nice plump lady or gentleman to act as a buffer. This used to make my mother very cross and she used to say, "Behave yourself, child", in a loud voice, but I really couldn't help it..

The top deck had no roof, so the passengers upstairs got wet! When I was old enough, mother used to let me go upstairs while she travelled inside, and I liked to stand at the very front.This resulted in a) an enormous rocking motion when the tram went quickly and b) a lovely feeling of wind through my hair."

Travelling on tracks

Croydon town centre was busy at this timewith carts, trams and the first cars.Shoppers enjoyed the markets and shops until 9 or 10pm at night.

Horse-drawn trams were first introduced in Croydon in October 1879. Electric trams replaced them in 1901 and these in turn were removed in 1951 in favour of petrol-driven buses. Trams were not seen again in Croydon until the opening of Croydon Tramlink in May 2000.

Find Out More

To find out more about the tramsin Croydon you can visit the Research Room to view:

*Photographs of trams *Books such as Croydon'sTramways by John Gent and John H Meredith or The Tramways of South Londonand Croydon 1899-1949 by K G Harvie

The Research Room is on the Lower Ground Floor of the Croydon Clocktower and is open Tuesday-Saturday 10.30-5